Unresolved
by Sophia Loren
Summary: James Potter and Lily Evans ended up together... but what happened to the friendship Lily left behind? Did she and Severus ever have anything in common at all? Oneshot. SSLE


**A/N: **Hey guys. It's been a while since I've updated; I know, and I'm sorry. This is just something I dreamed up after reading another Severus/Lily fic, and I just had to write it. Hope you like. Hit me with some reviews. :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the potterverse. If I did, my name would be J.K. Rowling. But it's not. So I don't. Mkay?

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**Unresolved**

Lily hadn't expected Severus to be there. In fact, she hadn't expected Severus to have been at the match at all. But by the way he was looking at James, he'd seen everything; his eyes were hard and cold, his lips pulled tightly together into a sneer. She got the distinct impression that if he got her alone, he would give her a stern talking to, much like a professor who'd caught a student out after hours.

She swallowed hard as he approached, and looked up at James to gauge his reaction. Emerald eyes were questioning, and hazel ones gave her the answer.

'Talk to him if you need to.'

Lily nodded, releasing James' hand and following Severus down the corridor. He led her to the dungeons and into an empty classroom. She was relieved when he didn't lock the door behind her; her heartbeat quickened at his expression. Jealousy was all too easily revealed behind the curtains of black hair parted to expose only part of his face. Severus wasn't one to betray emotions around others, but when he was alone with Lily, he allowed himself a small moment without the mask that hid his inner thoughts.

"Severus, what is this about?" she asked softly. He was silent at first. When he finally spoke, it seemed as though he were trying to hedge on a subject he didn't particularly want to discuss.

"I merely had the impression that you wanted nothing to do with James Potter, and thought he was an insufferable toerag."

Oh.

So he had seen what had happened at the match, then.

"People change," she replied through pursed lips, refusing to meet his gaze. Even after their discussion a year prior assessing their 'friendship,' she still felt as though there were unresolved matters between them. "James isn't such a bad guy, and I happen to like him." Her final comment was nearly inaudible, and she knew it would sting, but it had to be said. "I'm not sure I can say the same about you."

Dark eyes widened. "Why not?" His tone held more surprise than she'd expected, and she saw him try to swallow.

"Look at the company you keep, Severus, look at the things you're doing! You're inventing curses, you're running around with Death Eaters, you're experimenting with all sorts of Dark Magic! Everything I don't believe in. And now you've started treating other students – muggleborns – like they're lower than the dirt on your shoes."

"You cannot possibly think – "

"I don't think, Sev. I know. How many times have you called me Mudblood when you're around your friends? Seven. _Seven times_, Severus. This dual personality is starting to make my blood boil. Just please, let me be. I can fancy whomever I like, and it's not up to you to stop me."

She made to leave; he stepped in front of her, blocking the exit.

"Get out of the way," she ordered, annoyed. When he didn't move, she tried to shove him aside. "What is your problem?" she asked again, eyes narrowed. His gaze dropped to a silver heart attached to a chain around her neck.

"You're still wearing it."

Lily froze.

"What jewelry I wear is none of your business," she replied, grasping at straws trying to regain her wits.

"But the meaning behind the jewelry is entirely my business, particularly because I was the one who gave it to you." Coal black eyes bored into emerald green ones. Lily quailed under his gaze, turning her head away.

"Leave it alone, Severus, just let me go."

He shook his head.

"No," he replied.

"If this is about you being jealous of James Potter, you should take it up with him, not me," she said, looking up at him. "My feelings are my own business."

"Not if they are feelings for me." She swallowed hard. He had her there.

"Severus… what happened between us happened a long time ago. These are different circumstances." The sudden blaze in his normally listless eyes startled her.

"What about us?" Severus asked, his voice much more pained than she would've imagined. "You told me once that I was the most important person in your life. What changed?" The hurt in his eyes was raw, something Lily had never seen before. She shivered, but her resolve held firm.

"That was years ago, Sev! It was a different time, and we were different people! We can't do this! If you hadn't chosen your new life and the Dark Arts over me, if you hadn't made so many decisions that I couldn't support, if you had just made an effort to stay the same person and not let the company you spent time with influence you, maybe things would've been different!" She saw what was left of the color in his face drain, and the first tear slid hauntingly down her cheek. He tensed visibly, as if the sight of her crying caused him physical pain.

"You saw this coming, Severus, we both did! I loved you, but I can't any more! It's not a matter of whether I do or not; I can't be involved with someone who's always letting me down, always giving me false hope that he'll change when he never does. I have to do what's best for _me_… even if it means removing you from the picture."

Severus stood motionless, his body rigid. Tears now poured out of Lily's eyes, and he reached up to wipe them away; she swiped at his hand.

"Don't touch me," she growled angrily. "It's over… I'm done with you." She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. Her skin burned at his touch, and she whirled around, her eyes ablaze with fury.

"Let go of me!" She tried to wrench out of his grip, to no avail. Dark eyes pleaded with her to stay, to listen, to understand.

"The last thing I wished to do was cause you pain," he murmured. Her intended snort came out as a choked sob. "You know that." He moved his hand to caress her wet cheek, and she didn't stop him; she found she didn't have the willpower.

"Sev," she said, shaking her head. "We can't do this."

"Please." It was as if the breath had been knocked out of her. He was begging, pleading. Coal black eyes held the faintest glimmer of hope, the same kind of hope that he had inadvertently crushed so many times before.

When he leaned in to kiss her, she didn't protest. Firm lips met hers, and her resolve crumbled all too easily as his tongue coaxed her mouth open. Her arms rested on his chest, his hands on her waist. Heat blazed in her hotter than she'd ever imagined possible, and he moaned into her open mouth, his tongue battling with hers.

And all of a sudden, she pulled away. His vocalization had brought her back to reality; she realized that the fireworks she felt when her mouth melded against his stemmed from baser feelings. It wouldn't work; couldn't work. He had let her down for the last time.

"I'm sorry, Severus," she said, shaking her head once again and backing away slowly. "I'm so sorry." She pushed past him, exiting the room and running down the corridor. When he didn't follow, she was finally satisfied.

It was over.

Her eyes flickered to the necklace that still hung about her neck. She pulled it off, shaking her head and making her way back to the Gryffindor common room.

-

The next morning, Severus awoke to an owl perched beside his bed. The aching feeling in his chest had not subsided, and he swallowed hard as he pulled the letter off of the bird's leg.

The handwriting was Lily's.

Opening the letter, he was surprised when a small, silver necklace fell into his hand. Pain engulfed him, and his eyes brimmed with tears as he read and reread her letter until his vision was too blurred to see.

_Severus;_

_You said that as long as I wore this necklace, your heart would belong to me._

_Now I'm giving it back. I don't want it – can't want it – any more._

_Goodbye, Sev._

Jaw clenched, Severus stood, making his way out of the dorm. The letter remained open on his bed; as the door slammed, the necklace fell noiselessly to the floor.


End file.
